The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), Ghaziabad, under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, has signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the Nagaland Medical Council, the Nagaland State Drugs Control Administration (NSDCA), and the Nagaland State Pharmacy Council. The agreements were formalised during a one-day training programme on Pharmacovigilance and Materiovigilance held in Kohima, jointly organised by IPC and NSDCA.
The collaboration aims to strengthen drug quality assurance, promote the use of Indian Pharmacopoeia Reference Standards across NSDCA laboratories, and scale up pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance activities to enhance patient safety across Nagaland.
Dr. V. Kalaiselvan, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC, signed the MoUs with Dr. Kevilhulie Meyase, Registrar, Nagaland Medical Council; Smt. Imlilila, Assistant Drugs Controller, NSDCA; and Shri Khele Thorie, Registrar, Nagaland State Pharmacy Council. Senior officials including Shri Hoveyda Abbas, AS&FA, MoHFW, and Shri Anoop Khinchi, Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Nagaland, were present at the event.
Notably, the MoU with NSDCA marks IPC’s second such partnership with a state drug regulator after UPFDA and its first in the North-East region. The pact with the Nagaland Medical Council is the first-ever MoU signed by IPC with any State Medical Council for promoting pharmacovigilance and materiovigilance down to the Primary Health Centre level. The agreement with the Nagaland State Pharmacy Council is the fourth of its kind in the country focused on strengthening the rational and safe use of medicines.
Under the MoUs, IPC and the participating organisations will work jointly to improve adverse drug reaction and medical device reporting, promote the use of the National Formulary of India across healthcare facilities, and build capacity for healthcare professionals, including physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and quality-control personnel. The partnership will also support the annual observance of National Pharmacovigilance Week in the state.
The collaboration is expected to boost stakeholder engagement, expand ADR and device monitoring centres, and enhance medicine safety surveillance in Nagaland. IPC will provide technical expertise, while NSDCA and the Pharmacy and Medical Councils will coordinate with hospitals, medical colleges, pharmacists, drug inspectors, industry stakeholders, and other healthcare professionals to ensure effective implementation.
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